cook, craft, collect, create
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Santa was very good to me this year.
He gave me a beautiful red chair and I love it!
I popped my loopy granny cushion onto it for the photos.
Eventually, it will find a new home in my craft room.
In the meantime, I am enjoying a wonderful and relaxing holiday break.
I hope you are too.
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Today I decided to try a new recipe – Lemon Slice.
I love any dessert with lemons. The recipe looked delicious.
Unfortunately things didn’t go as I had planned.
I am still getting used to the oven in my new house and I had a small problem.
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I completely over cooked the lemon filling!
Not a total disaster, they are still edible.
But they are not the soft, tangy, lemon deliciousness that I had imagined.
Oh well – that’s life I guess.
I will give this recipe another try one day soon.
In the meantime if you would like to have a go, then you can find the recipe here
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This week I’m loving……
the sweet, gentle light of Christmas…..
flickering candles, shimmering lights on the tree,
the perfect reflection from a silver bauble.
Pure joy!
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Here are the spoils of my shopping trip to the Shanghai commodities market yesterday.
It’s a great place to get crafty supplies.
When I got home and unpacked my goodies I realised just how colorful they were and I couldn’t resist taking a photo or two.
My favorite finds of the day were the gorgeous paper lanterns.
They come in all shapes and sizes, plain, printed and cut out and of course in every color of the rainbow.
These actually came from a shop called Paper Life .
Well worth a visit if you like paper lanterns.
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Crocheted Cushions.
So many wonderful ideas and designs.
Here are just a few of my favorites.
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1. Commission for Sarah, 2. Crochet: Ethel Cushion, 3. African Flowers cushion 2, 4. My blooming flower cushion finished, 5. Crocheted cushion…, 6. Granny Crochet Cushion, 7. Crochet Pillows, 8. African flowers laptop sleeve, 9. granny square cushion cover side one
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Today it was a sunny, pleasant day, but very cold.
So I spent my time happily hooking my sunburst blanket.
What a nice way to while away the hours.
A cup or tea (or two) a cosy, place by the window in the sun.
Just me and my hooky, hobby.
Bliss!
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I love chocolate and yes I know I’m not alone here – lot’s of us love it.
There’s only one problem and that is – if I want chocolate – I want it now!
So when I make a chocolate cake it needs to be quick.
If you want a fast, simple recipe then this is the one for you.
Oh and did I mention that it’s super tasty too.
Get your chocolate fix here
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A Christmas gift for a crafty friend. I made this little pin cushion today.
The pattern is called Spring Violets. It’s designed by clever, Heather Bailey.
You can find a copy of it here
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I have always loved white interiors.
I have this idea that one day I’ll have a house with white walls and painted white floorboards in every room.
Until then, I’ll just have to be content with adding touches of white to the home.
Some flowers here, a candlestick there and a Christmas ornament or two.
White floorboards…….how lovely…….I’ll keep on dreaming!
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By the way did you spy the cute, crocheted stars on the tree?
I wish I could say I made them, but I didn’t.
You can find them here
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The other day I came across this great pattern for a circle scarf.
I found it on Lindsi’s lovely blog called peoplewebs.
I have wanted to make one of these for a long time but have just never got round to it.
This pattern was done in chunky yarn which meant I only had to crochet 12 rows!
It was super quick and only took me a few hours to finish – I love that. It makes a nice change!
Lindsi calls this stitch Catherine’s Wheel and it’s great for creating texture.
If you want make your own version then you can find the pattern here
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Now I'm Home 
